Garden Suburb Junior School

Garden Suburb Junior School Inspection report

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101281 Unique Reference Number Barnet Local Authority 286018 Inspection number 11 °12 July 2007 Inspection dates Gill Close HMI Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Junior Type of school Community School category 7 °11 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 343 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Dr Helena Mullins Chair Mrs Eileen Bhavsar Headteacher 20 June 2001 Date of previous school inspection Childs Way School address London NW11 6XU

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020 8455 3269 Telephone number 020 8457 5199 Fax number

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7-11 Age group 11 °12 July 2007 Inspection dates 286018 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Garden Suburb Junior School is a large school in an affluent area. Many pupils live further away than the neighbouring wards. Attainment on entry is above average. Almost one half of the pupils speak a home language other than English, but few are at an early stage of fluency. Pupils come from a wide range of ethnic heritages with one third being White British. There are fewer than usual pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities but an above average proportion with statements of special educational need. During the headteacher's absence on maternity leave, the deputy headteacher is the acting headteacher.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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Grade: 2

Garden Suburb Junior School is a good school with outstanding features. Pupils make outstanding progress to reach exceptionally high standards by the end of Year 6, as shown by the improved results in 2007. Factors contributing to them included the good teaching, the exceptional support given to pupils who may otherwise have fallen behind, and the sharp focus within the separate attainment groups in which English and mathematics were taught during some of Year 6. Particularly important contributions to the pupils' progress are their excellent attitudes towards classwork and homework, and the support for learning provided by their parents. Across the year groups, progress is not always outstanding; there is some slightly uneven progress where teaching is not quite so effective, particularly with higher attainers. Pupils benefit from an excellent broad curriculum which reflects the school's inclusive approach

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Grade: 2

and many participate in the enrichment activities. Pupils' personal development is excellent. Pupils get on very well with each other and celebrate the school's cultural diversity. They have outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The high standards of care ensure that pupils' well-being is excellent. Staff know the pupils well and are quick to give personal support where it is needed. Pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, and those at early stages of learning English, receive particularly good and sensitive support. Academic support is informed by improved assessment procedures, although their frequency and extent do not enable teachers to track pupils' progress well enough, or provide sufficiently focused targets to help them improve. Leadership and management are good. The acting headteacher has successfully focused the school on improvement. Staff are involved in self-evaluation, which is accurate and leads to

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Grade: 2

appropriate priorities in planning, although success criteria are not expressed clearly enough in terms of impact. Monitoring is leading to improvements in teaching but there is room for a sharper focus on pupils' progress for it to have faster impact. The school's recent improvements demonstrate good capacity for further improvement.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve teaching quality further so that pupils, particularly higher attainers, make consistently strong progress across year groups. ■ Sharpen assessment, target setting and tracking to increase pupils' knowledge of how to improve. ■ Evaluate teaching and provision more sharply in terms of impact.

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Grade: 1

Achievement and standards are outstanding. In 2007, standards in national assessments rose to exceptionally high. There was a large increase in the proportion of pupils reaching the highest level of attainment, which greatly exceeded the school's targets. Given the pupils' starting points, this represents outstanding progress. Progress was stronger in English and mathematics than in science. There are some variations in progress across the year groups, so it is not always outstanding. No groups of pupils underachieve. Those with learning difficulties or disabilities and pupils who joined the school at an early stage of fluency in English are very well supported and make similar progress to their peers. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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Grade: 1

Pupils' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Pupils develop into confident and well-rounded members of the school community who get on very well with each other and with staff. They are considerate and can empathise with others, for example when asked to think about loneliness in a lesson on personal, social and health education. Pupils of all ethnic groups play and work harmoniously together. They celebrate the diversity within the school and are building an excellent understanding of a range of cultures. These factors contribute to their outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils really enjoy coming to school and radiate enthusiasm in activities that excite them. Their behaviour is generally very good, but there are some instances of low level disruption in lessons when activities do not engage their interest and then their enjoyment decreases. Pupils know

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Grade: 1

very well about potential threats to their safety and take careful steps to minimise personal risk. They feel very safe from bullying and that any problems that may arise are dealt with very effectively by staff. They feel able to go to adults or use the 'worries box' to relay any concerns they have. The school's tighter procedures have contributed to a substantial rise in attendance since last year although they have not enhanced punctuality as effectively. Pupils' high levels of skill in numeracy and literacy, coupled with their ability to work together, prepare them excellently for the future. They express themselves with clarity and are ready to build on this skill if given opportunities to debate and discuss opinions. Pupils participate keenly in charity work and in taking responsibility, for example in acting as buddies for Year 3 pupils. They know very well how to stay healthy through eating, drinking and physical activity. They

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Grade: 1

have the recommended time for physical education each week and many participate in extra-curricular sporting activities. During morning break and lunchtime some play football; others want more opportunities to play games with equipment, such as skipping ropes.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Teachers plan lessons well, working as teams in each year group. They give clear explanations, using interactive whiteboards confidently. They have very good working relationships with pupils. Teachers convey consistently high expectations of pupils' attitudes to work, to which pupils respond extremely well. For example, they collaborate sensibly and take pride in the way they present their work. For pupils with additional needs, teaching assistants provide particularly good support that enhances their progress. Teaching in lessons is generally good or better, and captures pupils' interest with activities and support tailored well to their needs. Pupils enjoy these lessons a great deal and participate keenly. Where teaching is less strong, pupils are not given activities that challenge them to think hard or have insufficient time to do their own work. Consequently, pupils do not make

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Grade: 2

consistent progress throughout all year groups. Teachers mark pupils' work with useful encouragement and praise that indicates what they have learnt. Some feedback is very helpful in setting short-term targets for improvement and guiding pupils in taking the next steps, although this is not consistent. Pupils make assessments about how well they have done in lessons, although not about their broader progress. The 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007 school has used group targets successfully to raise attainment, for example in writing, and has rightly identified as a priority the matching of targets more precisely to pupils' needs in order to further enhance their progress.

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Grade: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. It enables pupils to reach high standards in English, mathematics and science while also giving very good breadth. Many cross-curricular links are made, for example, in teaching information and communication technology (ICT) through other subjects. The school's diversity is celebrated across the curriculum and in many displays, for example, through learning about a wide range of religious festivals. In addition, a different language is used each week for answering the register and pupils learn songs from other countries. Music is a particular strength with high participation in performance, in particular the involvement of all Year 6 pupils in the superb end-of-year musical production. Year 3 pupils have started to learn Spanish this year. For pupils with learning difficulties or disabilities, support is very carefully planned and delivered so that it meets their needs and gives them access to the curriculum.

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Grade: 1

The school provides a focus for a day or a week on various themes, such as on Japan, refugees and art, to broaden pupils' experience and further encourage creativity. There are many other enrichment opportunities through visits and visitors. Pupils attend well a broad range of extra-curricular activities, with music and physical activities being very popular. The chess team has recently won the under-11 national championships.

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Grade: 2

The quality of care, guidance and support for pupils' personal development and academic progress is good overall. Staff are very committed to pupils' health and safety and work very hard to promote their well-being, including through excellent partnerships with local agencies. Health and safety are promoted effectively through regular checks and risk assessments both generally and for individual pupils. Procedures for safeguarding pupils are robust. Staff know pupils well and are quick to identify where personal support may be needed, for example to meet emotional needs. Very good systems are in place to ensure that pupils requiring specific medical attention receive the best support available in school or while away on school trips. Teaching assistants provide particularly sensitive support for vulnerable pupils, those with learning difficulties or disabilities, and pupils at early stages of learning English.

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Grade: 2

Improved assessment records for reading, writing and mathematics inform teachers more clearly about pupils' attainment in relation to national expectations than at the last inspection. However, they do not show readily or frequently whether all pupils, particularly higher attainers, are making the progress they are capable of or enable efficient monitoring of the performance of different groups. Neither do they record progress in all aspects of English or in science or ICT. The school provides appropriate information that assists parents in supporting their children to succeed, for example through curriculum leaflets and workshops. The end-of-year reports indicate attainment; they do not consistently specify pupils' progress or next steps. 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The acting headteacher has built on the school's systems to focus staff clearly on improvement and enabled them to work together successfully in teams to raise the quality of teaching and their leadership and management skills. Teachers contribute soundly to the school's evaluation and planning. These plans accurately identify important areas for development, but do not contain success criteria expressed well enough in terms of impact to enable the school to evaluate its performance. Nevertheless, self-evaluation is accurate overall. Senior leaders also make accurate judgements about the quality of teaching which have contributed successfully to some improvements, but there still remain pockets of less than good teaching. The leadership of year teams by senior managers is effective in raising the quality of planning and teaching; there is room for their monitoring to have a sharper evaluative

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Grade: 2

focus on pupils' progress in order to improve quality further. The successful focus on year teams has left less time for subject leadership and management, so there is inconsistency in knowledge about the quality of provision or pupils' progress in each subject. There has been improvement in the areas raised at the last inspection: teaching, assessment and partnership with parents. The school rightly maintains them as continued areas for development. Parents are now better informed and participate in more activities; there remains room for greater involvement and sharing of more information about pupils' progress. Governors know the school well. They are providing increasing challenge through taking a stronger lead in questioning the school and developing links with subject leaders. Race equality reporting requirements are partly in place. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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Inspection judgements

School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Achievement and standards

1 How well do learners achieve? 1 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 1 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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learners?

1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 1 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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and interests of learners?

2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

20 July 2007 Dear Pupils Inspection of Garden Suburb Junior School,London,NW11 6XU Thank you very much for telling us about your school when we visited recently. We found that your school is a good school with outstanding features. The Year 6 pupils have made excellent progress. All of you are doing well and sometimes you could do even better. You reach very high standards. Most of the lessons are good and you really enjoy them but there are occasions when you do not have to think hard and some of you become restless. You enjoy school and find it very friendly. You get on well with each other and with the staff. You told us that you feel very safe. The staff look after you very well and give very good support to those of you who need extra help. You become very confident and considerate, taking on responsibilities keenly. You are very aware about how to stay healthy. Attendance has improved since last year, but some of you are not always punctual.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

The curriculum is excellent. It helps you to do well and to learn about other cultures. You have a very good range of activities in lessons and outside, such as visits, music performances and the Year 6 production. In lessons, you assess how well you understand the work although you are not asked to judge how well you are doing overall. Teachers give you helpful comments when they mark your work. Sometimes you could be helped even better to improve and given harder targets. The school is well led. Your teachers know how good it is and what needs to be improved. We have asked them to continue improving teaching to make sure that work in lessons is hard enough for all of you. We have also asked them to check your progress more often and give you more information about how you are getting on overall and what you need to do to improve. You can help by thinking hard in lessons about how you are getting on, and making sure that

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

you all behave well and are punctual. We wish you success at school and in helping it to become even better. Best wishes, Gill Close HMI 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Garden Suburb Junior School, 11 °12 July 2007

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